Bonnie's Breakdown
by pbow
Summary: An expansion of Chapter 3 Her Mission How Ron helped Bonnie.


A/N and disclaimer: This is a part of my story, Her Mission, that just screamed to be expanded. (The first paragraph of this is from that story.) What happened to Bonnie to make her become good. I know it's been written, quite expertly, by a few authors, but I wanted to take a whack at the concept. As always, Disney owns, I don't. I get nothing but a few blisters for pounding the computer keys.

Chapter 1 The Call

Mrs. Stoppable walked her out. Amelia turned in the doorway and hugged the older woman, kissing her on the cheek. "Thank you, again, for the great meal. I'll see you in Temple Saturday." Mrs. Stoppable hugged her. "I understand your parents are out of town." (Everybody in Middletown knew everything about everyone.) "Why don't you sit with us?" "I'd like that." Amelia said as she turned and walked over to her car, giving a wave before getting in. "See you Saturday." _"Well, maybe not a total loss. Hope may still be afloat." _She thought as she drove off. A smile grew slowly as a new plan took root.

"But first I want to know what happened to Bonnie." She got her cellphone out and speed dialed Bonnie's number. It rang twice before being picked up.

"Hi, Amelia. What's going on? Where are you?" Bonnie asked.

"Hi, Bonnie. I'm just leaving the Possible's. Kim and Ron just saved her Dad and are meeting her Mom at the hospital. I had dinner with the Stoppables."

"Yeah, I heard about the mission. Glad it all went O.K."

Amelia was surprised, "How did you hear about the mission?"

"Oh, I'm in the loop about all their missions. You saw the monitor that the Possibles have in the living room? I have one in my bedroom. Wade keeps me informed. So... Why the call?"

"I just thought it'd be nice to get together and talk. You know, catch up on things."

Bonnie squealed with delight. "That'd be great. Let me ask my Mom if I can come over."

Amelia heard the phone being put down on the table, then part of the conversation, "Mom, Ame wants me for a sleepover. Can I go?" A slight pause. "Yes I have all my homework done!" Another pause. "Really? Great! No, I'll take some clothes along and head to school from her house. Thanks!" The phone was picked up again. "Mom said it's O.K. as long as I had my homework done and I got to school on time tomorrow. I'll be over in about 15 minutes."

" Just come straight through to the pool. I'll see you then." Amelia hit the end button and closed her phone. She thought, _"Bonnie seems to be a whole new person. This should be an interesting talk!"_

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Chapter 2 Arrival

Amelia got home quickly and changed in to sweat pants and a tank top. She went out to the pool and opened the cabana's French doors to position the big screen TV. She also made sure the bar was stocked with sodas and snacks. She pulled two chaise lounges around to face the TV, then went inside to select some DVD s to watch. Well, at least they would run, sound very low, while the two girls talked. She went back out, got the remote, and laid down in the lounge. She was turning on the news just as Bonnie came out the back door.

"Hi, Ame." Bonnie said gleefully as she raced over and gave her friend a big hug. "I rushed right over." Bonnie noticed the TV. "Turn it up!"

The picture showed what use to be Mount Jacob, the top half missing. Amelia turned on the sound as the reporter was saying, " ...helicopter shots of Mount Jacob. About five PM this afternoon there was a massive explosion, ripping the top halve of the mountain away. Reports state that a Super Villain was using the mountain for a secret plan to take over the world, when the blast happened. There are no reports of any injuries, but as you can see, debris is still coming down." The shot changed to one of the reporter in the chopper. She held up some ragged, silvery colored pieces of something. "This is Mylar, the stuff they make party balloons out of. Authorities say this will be raining down on the Tri-City area for days to come. I'm Angie Tale, in Chopper 11." Amelia muted the TV.

"Wow, I was wondering what happened. I was doing my homework when the mountain blew up. It sounded like a sonic boom." Bonnie walked over to the cabana and got a diet soda. She walked back to the lounges and, kicking off her sandals, sat down on the edge of one. "So, what will we talk about?"

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Chapter 3 What's Up

Amelia looked over at Bonnie. "Don't you want to get comfortable first? I don't ever remember you wearing that!"

Bonnie looked down at her blue jeans and t-shirt. "You're right." Bonnie stripped off her clothes and lay back into the chaise naked. "That's so much better," sighing a little.

Amelia bolted up. "Bonnie! What's happened to you? I mean... you've always been a clothes horse! What's with the casual look? And now naked?"

Bonnie took a sip of her soda. "Oh, I don't know. That's just part of the change. I always use to worry and fret about the latest fashions, but now...? There's so much more to care about than what color is in, or what length my skirt should be. I guess Ron said it best when he said I was like a child again. I'm getting a chance for a second childhood."

Amelia slipped off her pants and shirt and laid back. "So you want to run naked through the sprinklers like a little girl?"

Bonnie did a spit-take. "Yeah! That'd be great! I **never** got to do that when I was little!"

Amelia looked over to her."You serious?" Bonnie nodded and grinned ear to ear. "God, I haven't done that in ages. Well, maybe later. The golf course sprinklers will be on in an hour or so."

A pout formed on Bonnie's face. "It might be too cold by then!"

Amelia un-muted the TV. The weatherman was saying, "So tonight will be just perfect to get out and leave your jackets at home." Amelia hit the mute.

"Weatherman says we're good to go!" Amelia smiled at the thought of playing like a kid again. _"Hope there aren't any paparazzi around. I can see the headlines in the rags now. 'Top Model takes Naked Romp with Gal Pal.' That'd be great for my career!" _she thought.

"O.K., I can wait." Bonnie paused to think. "So what else can we do?"

Amelia rolled over onto her side, facing her. "Bonnie, you are so different from last year. I don't mean just your clothes, but your whole attitude! You use to be so solemn, so serious... so vicious!" She paused. "Now you're so much nicer, more up beat! Sunnier! I want the whole story."

Bonnie's face darkened. She got up, walked over to the cabana, and grabbed a box of tissues. She came back and place the box on the table between the two chaise lounges. Amelia could see tears welling in her eyes. "Here, we're gonna need these."

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Chapter 4 The Whole Story

Bonnie grabbed a tissue, dabbed at the corner of her eyes, and sat down."I get a little emotional telling this. When we talked at Bueno Nacho, I gave you a quick view of what happened. Here's the whole story." She took a sip of her soda.

"It started about three weeks after school let out. I wanted Brick to hang with me at the mall and do some shopping. He refused. He wanted to hang with the guys and play some touch football. Now, I'd done that with them before. But it usually meant getting groped by his buddies when they were tackling me, or standing on the sidelines watching. We went round and round, arguing about it. He said the tackling was just part of the fun and thought I liked it. **Liked It?** Getting **pawed** by a bunch of Neanderthals? Well... I just wigged and broke up with him. He didn't even think twice about it. I mean, we'd broken up and gotten back together so many times, he probably thought it was that time of the month.

"Anyway... I called some of my girlfriends to see if they wanted to hang. They all blew me off. Everyone was busy doing something. Even Tara! She was heading out of town on vacation with her folks.

"I was a little depressed but went to the mall anyway. That usually perks me up. It just wasn't any fun. I wandered from store to store, not really looking at any of the new fashions. I saw Ron and Kim there at Club Banana. Ron noticed the mood I was in. By then it was just nasty foul. He came over, his usual happy self, and said, 'Hey Bonnie, doing a little shopping?' Well, I kinda lost it and tore into him. I started out with, 'What do you care, you big loser!' and went on from there. A minute later I pushed him aside and stormed out. He was still smiling! He called after me saying 'Nice to see you.' He told me later he had **sensed** I was in some deep dark place and wanted to spread a little Ron-Shine."

Bonnie stopped to take another sip of soda. She looked over at Amelia, who was clutching her soda in both hands to her chest, staring off at nothing. Tears were forming in her eyes.

"So, I need to clear my head. I went for a drive out to Lake Middleton. I musta sat there for a couple of hours, thinking about my relationships, with Brick and everyone. When I got back to my house, Ron was walking by. He just smiled and waved at me. I didn't sleep at all that night. I started planning some payback for my posse abandoning me. The next day was Sunday. The family always goes to the Country Club for brunch. As we were pulling in, there was Ron riding by on his piece of junk bike. He just smiled and waved. When we got home, I went to my room and started reading a book. After two or three hours I got up and looked out the window. What did I see? Ron Stoppable jogging down the sidewalk. As he ran by, he looked up at my window and smiled. Now, seeing Ron four times in less than twenty-four hours was just not right. Especially since two of the times he was at my house, on foot, and he lives miles away!

"Well, I needed someone to talk to so I started to call around again. Nobody answered their phone! I got on the computer but no one had their Instant Messenger turned on. That, or they had my messages blocked. I went down to the kitchen to talk to Mom. She was all, 'If they're not answering, they must not want to talk to you.' That set me off more. I went back to my room and emailed a few of the girls, telling them to IM me right away. I sat there trying to read the book, waiting to get an IM. I read the same page over and over all evening. No one got back to me. I finally dozed off around midnight.

"Early Monday morning I went out for a run through Middleton Park. There were Ron and Kim, sitting on a bench, talking. They both waved and greeted me like we were all buddies. Kim told me later that they were talking about me and my sitch. I stopped at a convenience store for a soda on my way home. I've never done that before! But there was Kim and Ron enjoying an ice cream cone. They both said Hi and Ron added, 'I hope you're feeling O.K.' And it went on and on. Over the next three days I saw Ron at the grocery store, the hardware store, at the Cinema-plex, when I went to wash my car, out at the lake..." Bonnie paused to sniffle. "And I saw him out in front of my house five more times. Every time he had a little something to say, like, 'Are you O.K.?' or 'Need someone to talk to?' And that goofy grin was always plastered on his face. I wanted to kill him."

Amelia looked over at Bonnie, concern on her face. "What about your girlfriends?"

"OH!" Bonnie sniffled loudly, "They eventually sent me emails telling me that they didn't want to be with me anymore." Bonnie started to cry. "That it just wasn't worth hanging with me... just to be popular... That they hated..." Bonnie was sobbing loudly and trying to catch her breath. Amelia got out of her chair and laid down beside Bonnie. She wrapped her arms around her and let Bonnie cry onto her shoulder. After a couple of long minutes and quite a few tissues, the crying subsided.

They sat like that, Bonnie in Amelia's arms, for ten minutes before Bonnie finally spoke. "They told me they'd gotten together and decided I wasn't treating people right. They hated the way I talked down to Ron and a few others. They wrote I was just too mean, and it was rubbing off on them. They started hating themselves for the way they were treating others. They said they **had **to break away from me before they were just like me. Man! That really got me thinking."

Amelia held Bonnie close before she spoke. "I was gonna talk to you about this last year, before graduation, but never got around to it. I got too busy with my career. I thought you stepped over the line a couple of times. But I thought you would tone it down a little and get back on track. I pictured you'd becoming a great CEO, of a big company, who could crack the whip on the people who needed some incentive."

Bonnie laughed a little. "You did?" She gave Amelia a quick hug then, breaking the embrace, patted her hand. "I'm O.K. now, thank you." Amelia looked perplexed at her, then smiled. She got up and went to her own chaise.

"Rats!"

Bonnie smiled, "It's not like I haven't thought about that. But if I swung that way, it would only be with Tara."

"Considering the circumstances... You, me, naked, alone out here. I thought I'd give it a shot. Oh, Well..." Amelia sighed. "Anyway, it got you thinking..."

"Right." Bonnie took a moment to gather her thoughts. "It was a Friday. I spent the whole day thinking about what had been going on all week. The messages, Brick, everything. Connie and Lonnie were back at college taking a summer course, and Mom and Dad were out of town at another convention. I was just **totally** depressed. I mean I was just **wiped! **So I went for a walk. You know, get some fresh air to try to clear my head. Guess who was at the end of the walkway?"

"Ron!"

"And Kim! They were standing there. Waiting for me to come out the door. Now, in my condition, all I saw was my worst enemy and her loser boyfriend. I stormed down the walk and took a swing at Kim! She ducked, lucky for her. I'd a probably taken her block off with that roundhouse. I tripped a little from the swing but Ron caught me. So there I was, half way to the ground in his arms, looking up at that stupid smile. Something snapped and... I... went... Ballistic I got up and slapped him across the face. I knocked him backwards three feet! He walked back up to me and asked. 'Do you feel better now?' I looked at Kim. She looked as white as a ghost. I turned back to Ron and tried to slap that goofy grin off him again. I actually knocked him down. I looked over at Kim, she was a whiter shade of pale. Her eyes were as big as saucers and her mouth was down around her ankles. But, she was staring past me at Ron. I turned around and he was getting up off the ground. His left cheek was a dark red. He opened his mouth and cracked his jaw back into place. I **actually heard** the loud crack! He smiled at me and said, 'Are you ready to talk?' I started swing at him but he was blocking my punches so I let into him verbally. I started with him being a loser, then went on to his parents, and his ancestors. The only time that smile cracked at all was when I got to Rufus. He interrupted me and quietly said, 'You can say anything you like about me, but please don't say a word about Rufus.' Just the way he said it. I got a little scared. So I went back to dissing him."

Bonnie grabbed another tissue and took a sip of her drink. "Every once in a while I'd look over at Kim. She stood there the whole time, arms folded and a small smile on her face. After three or four minutes I was losing steam, slowing down. That's when his smile grew bigger than I've ever seen it. He reached over and pulled me into a big hug. I practically collapsed into his arms and started bawling my eyes out. Kim calls it a catharsis, a purging of my emotions."

"Sounds like it to me," Amelia said with tears rolling down her face.

"Anyway, they... Ron carried me up to my room and sat with me on my bed. Me crying on his shoulder for an hour or more.

"Finally we started to talk. We talked about everything. I found out a lot. While I saw Kim as a rival, she saw me as an equal. A way to push herself and make the squad better. And while she never used my ideas for routines right away, she would incorporate them into a new routine later. I never noticed that. We talked about school and the different classes and teachers. We even talked a little about philosophy and our outlook on life. Then I mentioned the trouble I was having with my friends. That's when Ron said, 'If I don't like your life, just change it.' He said he and Kim were there for me."

Bonnie reached for another tissue only to find the big box empty. She looked down at all the spent tissues scattered around them. "Oops!" was all that came out, half way between a sob and laugh.

Amelia got up and got another box of tissues. She opened it, grabbed a couple, then tossed it over to Bonnie. She got a bottle of wine and, after opening it, grabbed two glasses. As she walked back to the chairs she said, "A story like that deserves something to soothe our souls." She poured a glass and handed it to Bonnie. She then poured herself one and laid back down.

"Bonnie took a sip. "Um, that's perfect." She paused as she took another sip. "Anyway, I've made a conscious effort to live a better life. Kim, Ron, Tara and I are close friends now. I've even helped on a few missions. I don't have the fighting abilities of those two, but I can hold my own in a fair fight. Usually I'm the distraction." She giggled at that.

What about Tara?" Amelia asked.

"Oh, when Tara got back from vacation, she didn't even recognize me. She said my new smile threw her off. She's been helping on the missions too. Not going on them, but helping by keep the gear ready and such." Bonnie sat back and took another sip of wine. "We're taking Martial Arts together. Would you believe she talking about going to the Middleton Police Academy next fall? She wants to be a cop!"

The two sat, drinking their wine in silence. Amelia noticed it suddenly got a little colder and damp. She smiled and got out of her lounge, walking away from the house and into the darkness. Bonnie suddenly realized what had happened. The sprinklers! She slammed her glass down on the table and raced after her.

As the two ran towards the golf course, one yelled, "Last one in!"

A/N: As I said, this story has been done before. (And quite well, I might add.) I wanted to purge some angst and shed a few tears myself.


End file.
